DEAR SUN SPOTS: Can something be done about the odor that comes from every other big building around Maine now? We put limits on odor emissions from the local mills in the past. We now have to live with the odor from marijuana on a daily basis.

Pot growers pushed for this business to pass and now that they are making money, they have to spend some of that money. Couldn’t pot growers voluntarily get together and put in some kind of odor-reducing systems to reduce air pollution and odor? It makes good business sense to have neighbors happy and to do it voluntarily before people create laws restricting things. — No name, no town

ANSWER: There is information about marijuana businesses and the regulations they have for these entities in Lewiston here. https://www.lewistonmaine.gov/978/Marijuana-Information . Each municipality has this available for citizens and potential owners of these businesses regarding what is expected. When a marijuana business starts up, it is required to have an odor control plan and to adhere to it.

If you would like to explore this further or have a concern regarding a specific business, you can contact your city or town offices and/or the Office of Marijuana Policy, 162 State House Station, Augusta, 04333. The phone number is 287-3282.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: Can something be done about drivers who have vehicles with the bright, blue-white headlights, as well as the row of bright lights on some vehicles that are so bright that when I meet them on the road I am temporarily blinded. It seems that the drivers who have them don’t dim their lights. Can the lights be checked when they get an inspection sticker and limited to a certain number of luminaries? — Sheila, Turner

ANSWER: I have been wondering the same thing myself as sometimes, I, too, am “blinded by the light” and it does seem as if the driver is forgetting to dim the headlights.

According to a WMTW Channel 8 news cast from November of 2019, the LED headlights you speak of are designed to light up a larger area for drivers compared to older halogen headlights. They’re a whiter light and provide better vision when driving in the dark, but not all LED headlights are causing the blinding glare.

One thought that makes sense is that when vehicle owners replace these bulbs on their own, they could be purchasing replacement LED bulbs that aren’t manufactured for their vehicles. If these bulbs aren’t installed properly, just a small shift in the angle of the headlight bulb can throw off the light it puts out, causing the blinding glare. This can happen if the height of the headlights is off even just a little.

Many years ago, my dad told me that as I drive at night, when a vehicle is coming at me with its lights on, to look down to the right and follow the white line. That piece of advice has always stuck with me, and it helps.

If anyone in Sun Spots Land has advice or more information about this subject, please chime in!

This column is for you, our readers. It is for your questions and comments. There are only two rules: You must write to the column and sign your name. We won’t use it if you ask us not to. Please include your phone number. Letters will not be returned or answered by mail, and telephone calls will not be accepted. Your letters will appear as quickly as space allows. Address them to Sun Spots, P.O. Box 4400, Lewiston, ME 04243-4400. Inquiries can also be emailed to sunspots@sunjournal.com.

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